"Claudio Abbado - Hearing the Silence conveys an intensely moving view on one of the world's finest and most-respected conductors. seventy-year-old Claudio Abbado is legendary in stature, having held the post of musical director with La Scala in Milan from 1968 to 1986, with the Vienna Opera from 1986 to 1991, and the Berlin Philharmonic from 1989 to 2002. A strong advocate of the development of young musical talent, he was instrumental in the foundation of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the European Union Youth Orchestra and the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. After a serious illness, he is beginning a new phase of his career: founding the new Lucerne Festival Orchestra. In several interviews, Abbado is talking about artistical, musical and biographical aspects of his life. The film shows excerpts from rehearsals and concerts with some of his favourite orchestras. In addition, various and colourful motives of Abbado's life beside opera and concert halls will be seen, combined with statements from colleagues and friends, who help characterizing the "silent thinker"."

"An excerpt from a concert with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1968 shows that all the characteristics of his style were already there in his thirties...But most of the film concentrates on what makes him tick as an artist, and the actor Bruno Ganz show[s] great insight in relating him to wider areas of performance ...[Abbado] comes across as a thoroughly likeable man, as well as a great conductor." -BBC Music****

American Record Guide... all played by great orchestras: from Bruckner's Ninth, Strauss's Elektra, the Brahms Requiem, etc... the video is enjoyable enough...

MusicWeb InternationalThe film is punctuated by extracts from concerts he has recorded with the above orchestras - including the Largo mentioned above - but more fascinating is the use of initially unidentified extracts from something extremely modern. It turns out to be Prometeo by Luigi Nono whose tough avante-garde music Abbado has always promoted. This alone takes one away from the Mahler and Beethoven and Dvorák with which he is mostly associated these days.